Personal Statements

Are unpaid internships vehicles for corporations to exploit student labor?"Yes and No. You sometimes hear about corporations saying things like "the intern can do this and do that for us so now we don't have to do it ourselves" but then on the other hand, internships help people in their career fields as something to put on their resume for an actual job."

"Yes. Today, it's basically accepted that students or recent graduates have an unpaid internship as opposed to being paid for their labor. The students take it because it's the only position they can get, despite the fact that many students have debt to pay and expenses just like everybody else."

"I think in business it is largely common practice to pay interns. However, depending on the organization (non-profits for example) there may simply not be enough money to pay for interns largely untrained in the tasks that they must accomplish. My philosophy is: "if they can afford it, pay.""Yes- they provide an opportunity for work, which can be classified as an internship, which may have little or no focus on educating students, while still not paying them. Additionally, the idea that internships are necessary and helpful to students before they join the work force can make it more difficult for students to find appropriate, paying work after graduation."

"Corporations know that students are competing for outstanding track records and many are desperate to get internship credit with big name agencies and thus will work for free doing jobs that others at the very same agency are compensated for." "They are a chance to learn and people should be grateful to have that chance instead of just wanting money out of the deal."Should all internships be paid?"Unpaid internships encourage the student to get a paid job on top of their interning and it could prove to be very taxing to do both." "Simple: all work should have at least a minimum wage. Being paid in "experience" is not enough. It is just an excuse for companies to have free labor and take advantage of students." "Depending on the position and work being done it doesn't necessarily need to be paid. It should also depend on the age/year of the intern."

"Sometimes I've found that the experience is worth more than the money I'm not being paid at said internship. I'm working of my own volition and not motivated by profit margins, so it makes me enjoy the work more (and I think perhaps even become more engaged with it)."

"I believe that interns are doing actual work and should be paid for it. If they aren't contributing, then it's not an internship, it's "shadowing," which is quite different.""If all internships had to be paid I believe the number of internships available to undergraduates or others seeking experience in their field would drastically decrease. This could have immensely detrimental ramifications for an individual's prospects of career advancement. At the same time, perhaps the intensity and required time of the internship and the tax status of the employer could be taken into account by a regulatory agency such as the DOL to determine if the position should be paid."

"I realize that some organizations (specifically non-profits, etc.) do not have fund to pay people, and students could not otherwise get experience there. However, it is very easy to tell when an organization, even a non-profit, is taking advantage of unpaid interns. I've had three unpaid internships. One was incredibly concerned with how much I learned and intent on introducing me to people who could help my career. The other two were clearly taking advantage of unpaid labor, and without interns, would have needed to pay several full-time employees to do the work we were doing.""Not all companies can afford unpaid interns. This would burden smaller, niche companies."